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My Week in Manga: April 3-April 9, 2017

April 10, 2017 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga the winner of the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga giveaway was announced. The post also includes a list of some of the manga available in print in English which feature dragons. Also posted last week was a guest review by my friend Jocilyn. She was inspired to write about Canno’s Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 1, the most recent yuri manga to be released by Yen Press. As mentioned previously, I’m currently working on my own in-depth review of the first volume of The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún by Nagabe. It looks like I should be on track to post it sometime next week.

Elsewhere online, Seven Seas has completely revamped its website, adding new features like browsing by genre, launching a newsletter, and so on. It looks great and what’s more, there will be a regular survey which provides readers an opportunity to give feedback and submit license requests. As part of the launch of the new website, Seven Seas also announced a few new licenses: Touki Yanagimi and Youhei Yasumura’s Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, Shin Mashiba’s Yokai Rental Shop (I loved Mashiba’s Nightmare Inspector, so I’m really looking forward this one), and an omnibus of Fumiyo Kouno’s In This Corner of the World (Kouno is the creator of Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms which is also excellent).

In other publishing news, some of Kodansha Comics digital-only titles were recently called digital-first, so there may yet be hope for print editions of some of the manga. I missed (or maybe forgot about) the initial announcement, but Titan Comics will be releasing Ravina the Witch? by Junko Mizuno in English later this year. (Ravina the Witch? was originally released in French in 2014.) In sadder news, Bruno Gmünder recently announced its bankruptcy (again). I’m not entirely sure what this will mean for the publisher’s past and future comics releases, including the Gay Manga line, but they might not stay in print long. (I’ve featured some of Bruno Gmünder’s releases here before; I’ll be sad to see them go if the publisher folds.)

As for a few of the interesting Kickstarters that I’ve discovered lately: Emily Cheeseman is raising funds to release the print edition of Gawain and the Green Knight, a beautiful webcomic that she’s been working on since 2015. I wasn’t previously familiar with the work of Elise Schuenke, but Living Space looks like it should be another great queer-themed comic. And speaking of queer-themed comics, the initial campaign for the Tabula Idem tarot anthology wasn’t successful but the creative team has revised and relaunched the project. Finally, anyone interested in Weird Al may be curious about Kelly Phillips’ comic memoir Weird Me about her experiences as the webmaster of a Weird Al fan site in her teens. (Weird Al’s music was a major touchstone for me growing up.)

Quick Takes

Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito. Lately there has been a resurgence in manga by Ito being released in English. In many cases they’ve actually been re-releases, but there have been a few newly-translated manga being published as well, Dissolving Classroom from Vertical Comics being the most recent example. I love Ito’s brand of horror manga and Dissolving Classroom was originally serialized in a josei magazine, so the volume was an obvious candidate for one of my most anticipated releases of the year. As expected, I thoroughly enjoyed the manga, but Dissolving Classroom didn’t end up leaving as strong of an impression on me as some of Ito’s earlier works. The loosely connected stories in Dissolving Classroom follow the demise of the people who meet Yuuma, a young man whose constant apologizing will literally make a person’s brain melt, and his incredibly creepy little sister Chizumi. Neither of the siblings are quite what they initially seem. Yuuma in particular comes across as a troubled but largely benign individual; very few people actually realize what’s going wrong before it’s too late. Dissolving Classroom is bizarre but certainly not the strangest manga that Ito has created. The visuals aren’t as shockingly memorable as some of Ito’s other series either, but they are still successfully disconcerting.

Everyone’s Getting Married, Volume 1 by Izumi Miyazono. While josei manga have recently become more common in translation (a trend that I would love to see continue), there still aren’t all that many to be found. I’ve generally enjoyed the josei manga that I’ve read in the past and I like to show my support for new releases, so I made a point to try Everyone’s Getting Married. Asuka is well-admired for her successful career, but what she really wants in life is to get married and become a housewife. When her boyfriend of five years unexpectedly dumps her, she suddenly finds herself looking for a new long-term relationship. That proves to be more difficult than she expected and unfortunately for her most likely candidate is Ryu, a man who has made it very clear that he has no interest in marriage. I’ve growing a little weary of high school romances, so I found Everyone’s Getting Married to be a wonderfully refreshing change of pace; I enjoyed reading about adults and their lives and relationships for once. I also like Asuka a great deal. She’s independent, knows what she wants out of life, and is willing to work hard for what is important to her. I’m looking forward to reading more about her and reading more of Everyone’s Getting Married.

Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1.5: Human-Error Processor by Masamune Shirow. While I had previously read the first and second volumes of Ghost in the Shell, I had never actually read the manga’s third volume, something that I didn’t realize until Kodansha Comics recently re-released the entire series in a deluxe, hardcover edition. Even though it was the third volume of Ghost in the Shell to be collected and released, the events of Human-Error Processor take place between the first and second volumes (thus being numbered 1.5). The episodic chapters focus almost entirely Section 9 and the cases that group is investigating. A few intriguing new characters are introduced, but sadly the Major only makes the occasional guest appearance. Out of the three Ghost in the Shell volumes, Human-Error Processor is the most straightforward and easy to follow. While that’s something that I would generally welcome, the volume was somehow less interesting as a result even if it was more readable. As with the previous volumes in the series, some of the most interesting parts of the world-building in Human-Error Processor are actually only found in the footnotes instead of being directly incorporated into the manga.

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez. It was the bold, vibrant colors and gorgeous illustrations of Nightlights that initially caught my attention. Alvarez is a Columbian illustrator; Nightlights is her first comic and my introduction to her work. Nightlights is about a little girl, Sandy, whose imagination takes flight at night. She gathers together small, mysterious, glowing lights and uses them to create anything that she can dream of. Come the day, she spends her time alone drawing what she has seen. It’s an innocent enough premise, but Nightlights can actually be pretty dark and some of the comic’s themes are fairly heavy. Nightlights could be described as an all-ages comic, but some younger readers might find it scary in places. There is also a depth and nuance to the comic and its narrative that only more mature readers will likely pick up on. Although the stories are notably different, Nightlights actually reminded me a little bit of the animated film The Secret of Kells which I likewise greatly enjoyed. Each in their own way the works are fairytale-like, telling stories about imagination, creation, and the unknown. Nightlights was a beautiful comic and I sincerely hope to see more work from Alvarez in the future.

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym. In 2010, Kym’s Stradivarius was stolen from her in a London cafe. The violin was an integral part of her identity, not just as a musician but as a person, and its loss was devastating. Her burgeoning career as a soloist came to a sudden halt. The violin was recovered three years later, but circumstances didn’t allow Kym to reclaim the instrument as her own. Ultimately she had to put it up for auction, losing it once again. In part, Kym’s memoir Gone was written in an attempt to process these traumatic events, rediscover who she is, and move forward with her life. Telling her side of the story she recounts growing up as a child prodigy–as the youngest daughter, her family’s devotion to her talent as a violinist was at odds with their South Korean heritage–her development as a musician, and her relationships with the Stradivarius and the people around her. Gone is an incredibly heartfelt and personal memoir but it can be somewhat discursive; Kym’s style of writing is very informal and at times even chaotic. Her voice as an author isn’t as clear as her voice as a violinist, but her passion and pain resonates throughout Gone. Complementing the release of Kym’s memoir is a companion album available from Warner Classics.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/10/17

April 10, 2017 by Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

Black Clover, Vol. 6 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – Most of this volume is taken up with one big fight, but the single focus is quite welcome, and it helps to give depth to another one of the Black Bulls, as Yami shows up to save our heroes and promptly shows off that his powers are (if you’ll pardon the cliché) on a completely different level from our heroes. He’s utterly cool, and I fully expect he will die tragically somewhere down the line, but that day is not today. Asta also does some leveling up, though, and we see that the Midnight Sun cult is after his grimoire—and is rather ticked off that he has it at all. Black Clover continues to remind me of various series mushed together (Magi stands out this time), but it’s fun and readable. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 17 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – I expected a more serious arc and I was right. Erina’s father has changed the rules so that all chefs are equal, but that just means that no one is allowed to express themselves in any way. The middle third of this book is like eating a bag of gravel, as smug snake Eizan is such an obvious villain that even one of his fellow Council members (Rindo, who is wonderful and appears to be siding with the enemy just because she’ll be more entertained by what follows) points it out. Meanwhile, the Polaris Dorm is due to be shut down… or at least it would be, but Megumi and company get out their riot gear and stand their ground. Hard to read in places, but excellent. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 10 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – I tend to like the training parts of sports manga more than the actual matches, and that proves to be the case here, as this is a stellar volume. Everyone is watching the other teams to try to find ways to improve, and despite a fight over staying the course vs. risking failure with something new, Hinata and Kageyama are the same. The exception is Tsukishima, everyone’s favorite jerk, whose apathy is starting to concern everyone. Surprise, it stems from a tragic flashback that crushed his dreams. Can you really strive to improve yourself if you don’t really care all that much? How do you make something you’re good at fun? Haikyu!! is one of Jump‘s best pickups lately, and I am happy it’s a monthly concern. – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 6 | By Amu Meguro | VIZ Media – Honey So Sweet is consistently cute and adorable, and this volume definitely offers up an assortment of heartwarming moments for our lead couple. That said, a fair amount of what happens here feels like something I’ve seen before. Even within this own series, in fact. It begins with Nao running into yet another wounded delinquent. This time it’s a guy named Nishigaki who, it turns out, idolized Onise in junior high and doesn’t think Nao is cool enough to be his girlfriend. When the new school term begins, he and his twin sister, Miyabi—yes, fraternal twin sibling firsties just like in Say I Love You.—begin attending school with the other characters, and Onise is very nice to socially clueless Miyabi, who seems to be developing feelings for him, which of course worries Nao. Still, I’m sure a happy ending awaits. – Michelle Smith

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 6 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – This was a stronger volume than the previous one, despite the fact that we’re introducing yet another love rival. Miyabi is a twin, and also very introverted, to the point that it takes her a minute or so to respond to anything someone has said to her. I appreciated that the solution was not “you just need to be more extroverted,” as it is in many other Japanese manga—the idea of telling people she responds slowly was good. That said, now we get to see how Nao deals with jealousy, though given that this is a pretty sweet manga, I think it will be fine. Taiga’s flashbacks were also quite good, showing off what drew him to Nao and the difficulty he has looking like a thug. Cute shoujo—not top-tier but definitely readable. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 3 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This volume has a large hurdle to get over, in that it’s almost entirely exposition, as our trio discuss what Nanase really is and how to deal with her, along with a heavy dose of Japanese urban legends. Luckily, Kotoko’s amazing pettiness and jealousy still livens things up, and despite her discussion of losing her virginity in the first book you sense she and Kuro haven’t gotten very far at all. We also get a discussion of how Kuro wins his fights—he can alter probabilities, to an extent. Of course, this tends to involve seeing a lot of bad futures. And he can’t be everywhere, as the cliffhanger shows another murder gumming things up. I still find this quirky mystery refreshing. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 5 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – It was a foregone conclusion that Yona would persuade the Blue Dragon—ostracized for his abilities—to join her, but despite the predictability, her acceptance of him is still touching. She names him Sinha, and with his awkward kindness, he instantly becomes my favorite character. Unfortunately, he’s promptly sidelined during the second half of the volume, as the gang ventures into a port town in search of the Green Dragon, a pirate named Jaeha who plans to fight to escape his fate. And then he sees Yona at the end of the volume. I hereby predict that he will be won over eventually, too. A little formulaic? Sure, but it’s still good fun, and I’m always a bit sad to see a volume end. – Michelle Smith

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World: Humanity’s Extinction Happens During Summer Vacation?!

April 10, 2017 by Sean Gaffney

By Tsuyoshi Fujitaka and An2A. Released in Japan as “Neechan wa Chuunibyou” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

After three volumes, I’m still not quite sure how seriously I should be taking this series. Based on the premise and what actually happens in the books, you’d think the answer would be ‘not seriously at all’. And that’s probably the right answer, given the sheer amount of ridiculous things going on here. This is a parody of a certain melancholic series, and as a result is going to be over the top. At the same time, this is also the “this was a success, please expand on the plot and backstory a bit” volume, so we start to try to understand why Mutsuko is the way she is, and why Yuichi woke up one day seeing ‘roles’ over people’s heads. It’s a worthy goal, I suppose, but does mean you get a lot of wordy exposition at the start of the book, and if you think about it too hard it doesn’t really explain much at all.

The story picks up where we left off, with the club (and younger sister, who is there just because) heading off to a remote island, where Mutsuko has planned survival training. The remote island is a bit blatant, to the point where the characters spend several pages discussing the Haruhi equivalent without actually naming it. Once they get there, after conveniently jettisoning the minor characters, they find themselves drawn into a cult conspiracy to sacrifice virgins in order to resurrect an alien who is being worshipped as a god by the local anthropomorphic villagers. Yuichi, along with Natsuki, his serial killer-turned-love interest, is sidelined from the sacrificing for the most part, which is likely a relief, as when he does arrive to confront the God, he ends up one-shot killing it. In between these events, we get Aiko worrying about her vampiric heritage, Yoriko vacillating about how incestuous she really is, and Mutsuko being both obnoxious and disturbing at the same time.

When the book is being as light and frothy as this synopsis makes it sound, it’s excellent. Yuichi’s deadpan “well, whatever” reaction to events is shared by others in the cast now, and makes the whole thing less ridiculous and overpowered than it would sound if it was written in a more grandiose manner. Much as the series is riffing on Haruhi (to the point where much of the exposition discusses the idea that certain people can influence the world so that it obeys their whims, with the implication that Mutsuko is one such person), Mutsuko and Yuichi are only superficially similar to Haruhi and Kyon. Where the book falters a bit for me is when it does try to take itself too seriously. Kanako’s discussion about why she likes isekai stories hints at a much darker take on her character than I’d expected, and given how little she matters in the books to date it feels like pure setup and nothing else. Also, if you’re going to mock the “the sacrifices have to be virgins” cliche, don’t follow through with the “the non-virgins were raped and killed” part of that. You can’t mock your cliche and eat it too. That left a bad taste in my mouth.

In the end, this is an enjoyable series of books, but I find I’m enjoying the metatext a bit more than the text. the series walks a fine line between deconstructing this sort of light novel schtick and just going along with it. So far it holds up, but it needs to realize that dropping more serious content into the middle of it may be harder than initially thought. We’ll see what happens next – judging by its subtitle, the fourth book looks to double down on the Haruhi comparisons.

Species Domain, Vol. 1

April 8, 2017 by Sean Gaffney

By Shunsuke Noro. Released in Japan by Akita Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Shonen Champion. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Krista Shipley, Adapted by Karie Shipley.

Monster Girl titles are here to stay, and have tended to come in two varieties. Thankfully, this is the second variety, and so fanservice and borderline content is not on the menu. Instead, this is something that should appeal to fans of series like My Monster Secret or Interviews with Monster Girls, as it has much the same flavor. It can be a bit odd and off kilter, though not so much that it reaches the out there weirdness of A Centaur’s Life. Its strongest qualities is its dialogue, of which there is a lot – this is a series with a group of classmates who talk and talk and talk, and it’s a relief we find the talk funny. And there are the usual manga cliches present within – the elf girl is a misunderstood tsundere, the angel girl is overenthusiastic and puppydog-ish, the dwarf girl is low key and stoic, etc. It’s solid and unassuming.

This is not a “I must hide my secret from the world” sort of book – there are several fantasy types at the school, and it’s accepted as simply being part of how the world works. That said, Kazamori, the elf girl on the cover, is battling the fact that everyone assumes she’s an elf who can use cool wind magic and has powers – except she’s been raised by humans, so has nothing of the sort. What’s worse, she feels the need to act haughty and proud as an elf should, even though the turmoil of emotions that stir within her is a more accurate read of her character. It also leads to most of the humor in the book, particularly when she collides with Ohki, a normal boy who denies that magic exists – everything can be explained with science. Which is fine, except all of the ‘science’ he demonstrates is ludicrously impossible to anyone but him.

This is the start, but refreshingly we also do focus on the other characters. It’s hard not to look at Unli the dwarf and not think of Terry Pratchett’s Cheery, as she’s essentially a cute small schoolgirl with a full beard and a penchant for meat. I was very amused at the relationship between her and her human classmate Tanaka, which everyone interprets as romantic and then when they find out it’s really not all hell breaks loose in terms of their suppositions. The title really seems to enjoy making fun of audience expectations – there’s an omake chapter that has Kazamori dream of what would happen if she was the cool girl with elf powers she wants to be, and Ohki was the fired up “I will prove it is science” shonen lead, and it’s hilariously boring.

Like many recent licenses these days, this will not win any awards for originality or surprises, but it’s fun and likeable, the sort of manga that you read with a smile on your face, even if it sometimes turns into a bit of a smirk. The translation and adaptation are excellent as well, which is key for a series that depends so much on its conversations. A good debut, recommended for fans of the ‘monster girl’ genre or comedic school manga in general.

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 1

April 7, 2017 by Jocilyn Wagner

It’s been some time since Experiments in Manga has hosted a guest post, but my friend Jocilyn was once again inspired and is back to review one of the more recently released yuri manga, the first volume of Canno’s Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl. (Also if you’re interested, you can find some of Jocilyn’s non-manga writings over at her delectable tea blog Parting Gifts!)

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Seeing Canno’s name on the cover of a book in English feels like quite the sea change. Not only is she somewhat obscure with only one full manga series and a couple of one-offs and anthology contributions to her name, her writing style also leans heavily toward the heart-throbbingly romantic yuri (which English publishers have traditionally avoided as being too risky/niche). Also, although not an uncommon setting for yuri manga, Canno’s Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl is the first genre title in English in a decade (i.e. Hakamada Mera’s Last Uniform and Hayashiya Shizuru’s Hayate X Blade, neither of which are exactly realistic), to give us a long look at dorm-life in a prestigious all-girls’ school. Finally, in case those weren’t enticing enough reasons, “Ano Kiss” has been translated by the matchless Jocelyne Allen, easily the most talented and enjoyable manga translator in the industry (and kind of my personal heroine). Hands down, Kiss & White Lily was my most anticipated manga of the year, and it has not disappointed.

To briefly summarize the plot, Ayaka Shiramine was told as a child that a 95/100 was an unacceptably low grade and ever since has never settled for anything less than no.1 in her class. Enter Yurine Kurosawa, a genius transfer student who can work academic and PE miracles with seemingly zero effort, who’s constantly seen sleeping in class. Indignant of the presumptuous upstart, Shiramine tries even harder than usual but still only manages second place on their midterms. In a fit of pique, Shiramine rips up her 98/100 test in front of Kurosawa declaring “It’s no good unless it’s perfect. If only you weren’t here, I would still be no.1” Kurosawa who had initially been impressed and quite smitten with Shiramine, amps up the rivalry and lords her superiority over Shiramine as a means to get closer to her. Before long Kurosawa has stolen Shiramine’s first kiss and being somewhat tsundere, Shiramine goes into total denial mode before being caught in a compromising position by her roommate cousin. Naturally, being a yuri manga, the cousin represents a B-story involving the boyish star of the track team and a hotly akogared sempai. Yada Yada Yada.

I won’t belabor the obvious parallel to Kare Kano in overall plot. Kurosawa’s utter genius and complete ambivalence to nearly everything that doesn’t involve Shiramine is oddly cute and compelling. One scene that paints Kurosawa as particularly superhuman had me in stitches for a while the first time I read it, but I won’t spoil it for you here. Although Shiramine might be outwardly cool and dissembling toward Kurosawa, when they’re alone together she manages to unwittingly send all the right signals. As with its inspiration, the honor students’ relationship is all blushes and awkward but swoon-worthy and adorable.

Kiss & White Lily variously waxes exciting shoujo romance and lighthearted school girl fun in an enticing mixture. Although Canno does tend to use a lot of screen tones to the point of necromancing Kare Kano, her art style is very cute and emotive, moreso reminiscent of Shimura Takako. I very much enjoyed the gorgeous full-color introductory pages Yen was good enough to reproduce. Naturally Kiss & White Lily’s translation is nigh seamless perfection. I honestly cannot produce a single gripe this time. A thoroughly fabulous read!

Manga the Week of 4/12

April 6, 2017 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Anna N, MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

SEAN: Unlike Viz and Yen, Kodansha doesn’t usually pile it all on in one week. That said, hope you like Kodansha this week.

But first, J-Novel Club has a 2nd volume of Playing to Win in a VRMMO, the bulk of which is apparently a flashback to the time gap in the first book.

Kodansha continues to pump out digital-only series, both new and old Del Rey castoffs. For the former, we have the 2nd Ace of the Diamond, another Museum, and the second Tokyo Tarareba Girls. For the latter, new volumes of Gakuen Price, School Rumble, Yagyu Ninja Scrolls and the omnipresent Pumpkin Scissors.

MICHELLE: I kind of fell behind on keeping up with these, alas.

ANNA: I bought the first volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls but haven’t read it yet, so far behind already.

ASH: I don’t know how much it really means, and I’m trying not to get my hopes up lest they be dashed, but Kodansha actually called some of these titles digital-first recently. I’d love to see more print editions!

SEAN: And there’s lots of print as well. Attack on Titan is so popular it’s not getting a Choose Your Own Adven… (cough) sorry, Choose Your Own Path Adventure, a totally not-litigious title, called Year 850: Last Stand at Wall Rose.

ASH: I’m really curious about this one; I loved gamebooks growing up. (And I have to admit, I still do.)

SEAN: Fairy Tail is up to Vol. 59, but I believe that this may be the final arc.

The Prince in His Dark Days is at Vol. 4. Are the days still dark?

MICHELLE: I believe this is the final volume, too.

SEAN: Princess Jellyfish’s 4th volume is probably the release I’m most excited about in this bunch.

MICHELLE: Me too.

ANNA: Indeed.

ASH: Still incredibly happy this series is being released!

MJ: Ack! I’m behind!

SEAN: But there’s also the debut of a new Kosuke Fujishima series. Toppu GP is the somewhat awkward title, and after combining fast bikes/cars with policewomen, goddesses and college kids, Kodansha is finally letting him actually do a racing manga. Should be fun.

MICHELLE: Huh. I suppose I should check it out.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 5th volume of Not Lives, which I have Not Read in some time.

And a 7th volume of my “favorite” guilty pleasure (and by favorite I mean it makes me cringe so much but I read it anyway) Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn.

SuBLime has a 6th volume of The World’s Greatest First Love. (Spoil me, is it really that great?)

MICHELLE: No clue.

ASH: I find the series’ supposed romance much less compelling than its behind-the-scenes portrayal of the shoujo manga publishing industry.

SEAN: And Vertical gives us a 6th volume of Devil’s Line.

Lastly, there’s some more Viz. We have a 62nd volume of Case Closed. Catch up before you’re 63 volumes behind!

And a 20th Itsuwaribito, which I think may be nearing its end soon.

Magi reaches Vol. 23, and always makes me happy.

ANNA: So, so far behind on this title as well.

SEAN: And a 7th volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter.

Lastly, the Revolutionary Girl Utena box set which got delayed at the last minute is now out in stores (unless Diamond shipped it to you early, like they did me). It’s the shoujo manga version of Utena, and I will leave it at that.

ASH: I actually haven’t read the series, but I have read the standalone manga The Adolescence of Utena which I loved and which is also included in this absolutely gorgeous box set.

SEAN: There’s a lot of variety this week. What appeals to you?

Manga Giveaway: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Giveaway Winner

April 5, 2017 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga giveaway is… Kate!

As the winner, Kate will be receiving the delightful Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1 by Coolkyousinnjya as published in English by Seven Seas. At first I was a little hesitant about reading Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, but ultimately I couldn’t deny the allure of dragons. And so for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me a little about their favorite dragons from manga. I’ve collected some of the manga mentioned in the list below (along with some others), but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses.

Some of the manga with dragons available in English:
Akame ga Kill! written by Takahiro, illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro
The Ancient Magus Bride by Kore Yamazaki
The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru OdagiriCirque du Freak by Takahiro Arai
A Certain Magical Index written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Chuya Kogino
Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane
Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui
The Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Dragon Drive by Kenichi Sakura
Dragon Half by Ryusuke Mita
Dragon Knights by Mineko Ohkami
Dragonar Academy written by Ran, illustrated by Shiki Mizuchi
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa
Fushigi Yûgi by Yuu Watase
Gate: Where the JSDF Fought written by Takumi Yanai, illustrated by Satoru Sao
High School DxD by Hiroji Mishima
The Key to the Kingdom by Kyoko Shitou
Kiss of the Rose Princess by Aya Shouoto
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa
Legendz written by Rin Hirai, illustrated by Makoto Haruno
Lord Marksman and Vanadis written by Tsukasa Kawaguchi, illustrated by Nobuhiko Yanai
Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid by Coolkyousinnjya
Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa
Negima! by Ken Akamatsu
Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino
Princess Mermaid by Junko Mizuno
Rave Master by Hiro Mashima
Read or Dream written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Ran Ayanaga
Record of Lodoss War: The Lady of Pharis written by Ryo Mizuno, illustrated by Akihiro Yamada
St. Dragon Girl by Natsumi Matsumoto
Tales of Zestiria by Shiramine
Tenryu: The Dragon Cycle by Sanami Matoh
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime written by Fuse, illustrated by Taiki Kawakami
Time Stranger Kyoko by Arina Tanemura
Two Flowers for the Dragon by Nari Kusakawa
X by CLAMP
Übel Blatt by Etorouji Shiono
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi
Zero’s Familiar written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Nana Mochizuki

Well now, that ended up being a fairly lengthy list, and I know that it’s not comprehensive, but it’s certainly a start. Whether they’re familiars, sidekicks, primary characters, or the stuff of legend, all sorts of dragons can be found in all sorts of manga. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your favorite dragons with me! I hope to see you all again for the next giveaway.

Flying Witch, Vol. 1

April 5, 2017 by Sean Gaffney

By Chihiro Ishizuka. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by Melissa Tanaka.

Relaxed and easygoing titles have always been a thing in Japanese manga to some extent, but over the last ten years or so it really seems to look like they’re coming into their own, or at least coming to North America more often. Whether it’s school life, village life, or workplace life, there is a growing need for watching a cast of mild to strong eccentrics go about life at their own pace, usually with at last one “straight man” to boggle at their antics. And as you may have gathered, Flying Witch continues in this genre, showing us a young witch who moves out into the sticks in order to train, and her laidback adventures with a group of (mostly) normal villagers.

Makoto is the witch, and she’s a bit of an airhead, although not to the extremes that some of these series try to go. She wants to do her best to be a better witch, but is easily distracted, has a Ryouga Hibiki-like sense of direction, and also has absolutely no idea how to hide her identity as a witch, which is supposed to be a secret, from anyone at all. She’s moved in with her cousins, and on the very first day she’s trying out a new broom in front of the youngest one, not particularly noticing that she isn’t supposed to be floating in the air. The cousin, Chinatsu, is probably my favorite character in the book; at first shy and a little reluctant to like this new girl, she gradually warms up once she realizes Makoto is a witch, and is a nicely realistic young girl.

Less successful is Kei, the main male lead, who unfortunately is not straight-laced enough to be the main “tsukkomi” that this series needs. (That falls to his classmate Nao, who holds up her end of the bargain admirably, and is the recipient of the manga’s funniest and also possibly creepiest moment.) Kei is simply too laid back and relaxed, and as a result has a tendency to have no personality. He seems to be a ‘minder’ sort, like Yotsuba’s dad, but these girls are too old to really need to take charge of, so mostly he exists so that the series isn’t made up entirely of girls. I was pleased to see that the witch aspect was not forgotten – this felt like one of those series that would settle into slice-of-life and forget its roots, but each chapter does have a small element of the supernatural in it, from the terrifying mandrake root to the Harbinger of Spring (whose matter-of-fact introduction reminded me of some of the better Zetsubou-sensei chapters) to Makoto’s older and more accomplished sister, who arrives, makes chaos, and then leaves.

There’s not much to grab a hold of here, and I doubt a “real” plot will form. But who wants a real plot to form anyway? Flying Witch is filled with cute, nice, slightly weird girls living their everyday life and doing witchcraft. If you enjoy slice-of-life eccentricity, it’s right in your strike zone.

Altair: A Record of Battles, Vol. 1

April 4, 2017 by Katherine Dacey

Altair: A Record of Battles seems tailor-made for fanfic: it’s got a cast of achingly pretty men, a labyrinthine plot, and an exotic setting that freely mixes elements of Turkish, Austrian, and Bedouin cultures. Like other series that inspire such fan-ish activity — Hetalia: Axis Powers comes to mind — Altair is more interesting to talk about than to read, thanks to an exposition-heavy script and an abundance of second- and third-string characters; you’ll need a flowchart to keep track of who’s who.

The first volume begins promisingly enough. While visiting the Türkiye capitol, a diplomat from the neighboring Balt-Rhein Empire is assassinated in the streets, an arrow lodged in his back. Though the murder weapon suggests that someone in the Balt-Rhein military engineered the hit, Emperor Goldbalt’s mustache-twirling subordinate Louis Virgilio points the finger at Türkiye, insisting they produce the killer or face the ultimate consequence: war. Mahmut, the youngest member of the Türkiye generals’ council, impulsively decides to visit Goldblat’s court in an effort to prevent bloodshed and reveal the true culprit in Minister Franz’s death.

No matter how intensely the characters ball their fists or glower at each other, however, their drawn-out arguments over troop mobilization, international diplomacy, and rules of order are only moderately more entertaining than an afternoon of watching C-SPAN. Author Kotono Kato further burdens the script with text boxes indicating characters’ rank and title, and diagrams showing the distribution of power under the Türkiye “stratocracy,” details that add little to the reader’s understanding of why Balt-Rhein and Türkiye are teetering on the brink of war. Only a nighttime ambush stands out for its dynamic execution; it’s one of the few scenes in which Kato allows the pictures to speak for themselves, effectively conveying the ruthlessness of Mahmut’s enemies without the intrusion of voice-overs or pointed dialogue.

The characters are just as flat as the storytelling. Kato’s flair for costume design is symptomatic of this problem: she’s confused surface detail — sumptuous fabrics, towering hats, sparkling jewels — with character development. With the exception of Mahmut, whose passionate intensity and youthful arrogance are evident from the very first scene, the other characters are walking, talking plot devices whose personalities can be summed up in a word or two: “brash,” “devious,” “enthusiastic,” “mean.” (Also “hot” and “well dressed,” for anyone who’s keeping score.) The shallowness of the characterizations robs the Türkiye/Balt-Rhein conflict of urgency, a problem compounded by Kato’s tendency to wrap things up with epilogues that are as baldly worded as a textbook study guide. At least you’ll be prepared for the quiz.

The bottom line: History buffs will enjoy drawing parallels between the Türkiye and Balt-Rhein Empires and their real-life inspirations, but most readers will find Altair too labored to be compelling — unless, of course, they’re looking for fresh opportunities to ‘ship some handsome characters.

ALTAIR: A RECORD OF BATTLES, VOL. 1 • BY KOTONO KATO • KODANSHA COMICS • RATED T, FOR TEENS • DIGITAL ONLY

Bookshelf Briefs 4/3/17

April 3, 2017 by Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

Cells at Work!, Vol. 3 | By Akane Shimizu | Kodansha Comics – Much to my surprise, Red Blood Cell takes a back seat in this volume, though she gets the entire first story to herself, in an amusing but predictable variation on “I protect her journey without her ever seeing me.” White Blood Cell is front and center, though, dealing with pranking cold germs, and a community of hair that has been beset by acne. There’s also Memory Cell, whose memory proves to be less amusing than his tendency to panic and overthink things, and Killer and Helper T Cell, who are vitriolic best buds who were once in Killer T boot camp together. The plots are the opposite of original, but the fun in Cells at Work! is seeing how the author meshes the cliches with genuine information. Great fun. – Sean Gaffney

Danganronpa: The Animation, Vol. 4 | By Spike Chunsoft and Takashi Tsukimi | Dark Horse – I’ve had issues with the rushed pacing during this entire adaptation, and it reaches a climax in this final volume, which is SO rushed it becomes almost a liability. And of course it’s compressing an anime that was already compressing a visual novel. That said, there are some striking visuals as you’d expect, particularly the revelation of the real villain and their final fate. Dark Horse hints at the end of the volume they may license more, and I’m vaguely interested, but honestly, this manga works better as an ad to get you to buy the game rather than as a story in itself. And as a vehicle for some truly wretched bear puns. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 17 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – This is not your usual volume of Food Wars!. In fact, most of it is fairly frustrating, as the restrictive regime of Erina’s father must be established before Yukihira presumably succeeds in triumphing over it. Azami Nakiri swiftly disbands all research societies and essentially outlaws creativity, mandating that all students be allowed to cook only approved recipes decided on by an elite group. Of course Yukihira rails against this, but when Polaris dormitory is threatened, he decides to challenge corrupt Eizan from the Council of Ten, even knowing that the judges are in his pocket. Alas, the reveal of Yukihira’s cooking waits until next time. The best part of the volume is runaway Erina being welcomed by the Polaris crew, but otherwise volume seventeen provides setup for a satisfying installment without really being one itself. – Michelle Smith

He’s My Only Vampire, Vol. 10 | By Aya Shouoto | Yen Press – With this volume, He’s My Only Vampire comes to an end. The details of Kana’s true origins are not belabored, but we do get some background on the origin of the stigmas and why Eriya is the way he is. As I expected (having previously read Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess, with its somewhat baffling finale), it doesn’t entirely make sense, but it makes enough sense for a reader like me, who doesn’t care enough anymore to quibble. The final confrontation is a bit rushed, but there’s a five-years-after epilogue that caps things off decently. In the end, this was an okay series—better than Kiss of the Rose Princess but not as good as The Demon Prince of Momochi House—but not one that I am likely to reread. – Michelle Smith

The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 6 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – Honoka’s status as girl with a crush who frets a lot is so ingrained that I was actually very surprised at seeing her crush her competition in her event that starts the fourth volume. It’s always nice to see characters like her succeed after all their hard work. The same cannot be said for Subaru and Nanami, two minor characters whose job is to show off how good the other school’s candidates are. And Honoka may be in trouble in future events, as she seems to have given away a secret to a new friend/spy. There’s also some amusing side stories, including showing that the two girls who kidnapped Honoka and Shizuku at the start of the series are in fact dating each other. Good stuff for Mahouka fans. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 10 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – Last time we saw lots of unexplained Negima references, and this time we’re going back even further, as the start of this volume is nothing more than an extended riff on Love Hina—unsurprising given they’re all running an inn with an onsen at this point, but still, you can’t help but laugh. Kirie gets more focus and depth, and reminds me that Akamatsu loved to use Chisame more than the others as well. As for Kuromaru, she’s pretty much come down on the ‘she’ end of the equation with her growing chest, but her feelings for Tota are still causing her great difficulty. Oh well, it wouldn’t be Akamatsu without harem romance not going anywhere. Coming out slower, but still for for those who like Akamatsu. – Sean Gaffney